---
title: "What the sources say about the Snowy Owl | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "53 claims from the Snowy Owl profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/snowy-owl-1.webp"
canonical: "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/snowy-owl/sources/"
---

# What the sources say about the Snowy Owl (*Bubo scandiacus*)

> 53 claims from the Snowy Owl profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Snowy Owl](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/snowy-owl/)

## Nyctea scandiaca (snowy owl). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Nyctea_scandiaca/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| around the northern parts of North America and Eurasia | Snowy owls have a circumpolar distribution. They breed in coastal Alaska, Canada, and Greenland, as well as in northern Scandinavia, Russia, southern Novaya Zemlya and northern Siberia. |
| Most owls rule the night, but Animal Diversity Web calls the snowy owl "largely diurnal," | Unlike most owls, snowy owls are largely diurnal. |
| its breeding range runs from coastal Alaska, Canada and Greenland to northern Scandinavia, Russia and northern Siberia | They breed in coastal Alaska, Canada, and Greenland, as well as in northern Scandinavia, Russia, southern Novaya Zemlya and northern Siberia. |
| Thick white feathers cover its legs and feet, protecting them from the cold | their legs and feet are covered in white feathers that protect them from the cold weather |
| Animal Diversity Web says it can swivel its head three-quarters of the way around, 270 degrees, to scan its hunting ground | Visual scanning of the hunting area is facilitated by their ability to swivel their head three quarters of the way around (270 degrees). (note: attributed to ADW because its account is old; San Diego Zoo's owl page agrees at family scope: 'most owls turn their head no more than 270 degrees in either direction') |
| The female picks a low, windswept rise such as a hummock or boulder, then scrapes out a shallow bowl in the turf or bare ground and leaves it unlined | the female selects a nest site, which is a low windswept prominence, such as a hillock, hummock or boulder. The female constructs a nest by scraping out a shallow bowl in the turf or bare ground. The nest is not lined with any insulating materials. |
| Snowy owls are also wanderers, moving nomadically and breeding where prey is abundant | In general, snowy owls move nomadically, and breed when and where prey is abundant. |
| dangerLevel: Medium | Both sexes attack approaching predators, dive-bombing them and engage in distraction displays to draw the predator away from the nest. (note: #913: kept; ADW lists humans first among its known predators, and no source reports a serious injury to a person) |

## Snowy Owl. Audubon Guide to North American Birds.

https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/snowy-owl

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A powerful owl of the Arctic tundra | A large, powerful owl of the high Arctic tundra |
| often hunts by day | Often hunts by day. |
| colored for winter camouflage | colored for camouflage during northern winters |
| able to take birds as big as geese | At other times it takes a wide variety of prey, including birds as big as geese. |
| also rabbits and hares, and on coasts it may feed heavily on ducks and geese | Takes mammals including rabbits, hares, voles, ground squirrels. In coastal areas may feed heavily on birds, including ducks, geese, grebes, murrelets, and sometimes songbirds. |
| Usually watches for prey from a perch | Usually hunts by watching for prey from a perch, then pursuing it in swift flight and catching prey in talons. |
| Audubon notes that it often hunts by day | Often hunts by day. |
| Audubon gives an adult's length as about 61 centimeters (24 inches), with wings spanning 1.4 meters (4 feet 7 inches) | 24" (61 cm). W. 4' 7 (1.4 m). (note: 61 cm = 24 in; 1.4 m = 4 ft 7 in, as the source prints both) |
| A snowy owl usually hunts by watching for prey from a perch | Usually hunts by watching for prey from a perch, then pursuing it in swift flight and catching prey in talons. |
| but it also takes rabbits and hares, and along coasts it may feed heavily on ducks and geese | Takes mammals including rabbits, hares, voles, ground squirrels. In coastal areas may feed heavily on birds, including ducks, geese, grebes, murrelets, and sometimes songbirds. |
| During some winters, large numbers appear south of the Canadian border | During some winters, large numbers of Snowy Owls appear south of the Canadian border |
| In the Arctic it may eat almost nothing but lemmings when they are around | In Arctic, may feed almost exclusively on lemmings when these are available. (note: 'almost nothing but' paraphrases 'almost exclusively') |
| in many Arctic regions it may breed mainly in years when lemmings are plentiful, skipping nesting altogether when they are scarce | In many regions of Arctic, may breed mainly in years when lemmings are abundant, failing to nest at all when lemmings are scarce. |
| anywhere from 3 to 11 eggs, with more laid when prey is abundant | Eggs 3-11. Clutch size quite variable, with more eggs laid in years when prey is abundant. |
| Audubon's guide sums up the extremes: young females are heavily marked, while old males are almost pure white | young females heavily marked, old males almost pure white |
| Young snowy owls may leave the nest after two to three weeks, but Audubon says they cannot fly well until about seven weeks old | Young may leave nest after 2-3 weeks, but not able to fly well until about 7 weeks |
| Often heavily. | In Arctic, may feed almost exclusively on lemmings when these are available. |
| an owl that often hunts by day | Often hunts by day. (note: vibe.reason, re-paired in #913) |

## Snowy Owl. Owl Research Institute.

https://www.owlresearchinstitute.org/snowy-owl

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Arctic tundra when nesting; meadows, marshes and dunes at other times | Tundra, meadows, marshes, dunes; during nesting season, lives on the tundra |
| Mostly lemmings, voles and other rodents | Mostly lemmings, voles, and other rodents |
| swoops down in a "wallop" to snatch it with strong talons | Use a 'wallop' hunting method - swooping down and snatching prey with their strong talons |
| It nests on the tundra | during nesting season, lives on the tundra |
| In winter it often moves south to southern Canada, the northern United States and similar latitudes around the world | Circumpolar; summer in Arctic, often spend winter in southern Canada, northern U.S., and similar latitudes around the world |
| where it turns up on meadows, marshes and dunes | Tundra, meadows, marshes, dunes; during nesting season, lives on the tundra |
| females outsize males | Females outsize males. Height: Males 55-64 cm (21-23 in), Females 60-75 cm (22-26 in) |
| Thick white feathers | white owl with bright yellow eyes, a dark beak, and thickly feathered feet |
| Adult males are pure white, while females are white with dark bars or spots | Males: adult males are pure white Females: white with dark bars or spots |
| Then it launches what the Owl Research Institute calls a "wallop", swooping down to snatch the target in its strong talons | Use a 'wallop' hunting method - swooping down and snatching prey with their strong talons |
| Its diet is mostly lemmings, voles and other rodents | Mostly lemmings, voles, and other rodents |
| It is one of the few owls that builds its own nest | One of the few species of owl that builds its own nest |
| Mostly by day. The Owl Research Institute calls it mostly diurnal | Mostly diurnal, but will hunt any time of day in the constant daylight of Arctic summer |
| in the constant daylight of the Arctic summer it will hunt at any time of day | Mostly diurnal, but will hunt any time of day in the constant daylight of Arctic summer |
| A young snowy owl resembles an adult female | Females: white with dark bars or spots Young: resemble females |
| males take several years to turn totally white | It takes several years for males to turn totally white |
| Adult females still show dark bars or spots | Females: white with dark bars or spots |
| Age and sex both play a part. | It takes several years for males to turn totally white |
| Chicks toddle before they fly. | Fledglings leave the nest and spend nearly a month hiding & toddling around the tundra before they are able to fly |
| The Owl Research Institute describes fledglings spending nearly a month hiding and toddling around the tundra first | Fledglings leave the nest and spend nearly a month hiding & toddling around the tundra before they are able to fly |
| it usually watches for prey from a perch, then swoops down in a "wallop" to snatch it with strong talons | Use a 'wallop' hunting method - swooping down and snatching prey with their strong talons (note: vibe.reason, re-paired in #913; the perch half is Audubon's 'Usually hunts by watching for prey from a perch', claimed on the superpower line) |

## Bubo scandiacus. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Human Ageing Genomic Resources.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Bubo_scandiacus

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Adults weigh around 2 kilograms (4.5 pounds) on average | Adult weight 2,043 g (note: 2,043 g rounded to 2 kg / 4.5 lb) |
| AnAge records one captive bird that lived at least 28 years | One captive specimen lived at least 28 years |

## Robillard et al. (2016). Pulsed resources at tundra breeding sites affect winter irruptions at temperate latitudes of a top predator, the snowy owl. Oecologia.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-016-3588-3

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| In temperate North America these winter irruptions come every three to five years | periodic winter irruptions of snowy owls Bubo scandiacus every 3-5 years in temperate North America |
| a 2016 study found that winter owl numbers rose and fell with small-mammal numbers at two Canadian tundra sites the summer before | summer abundance of small mammals was collected in summer at two distant sites in Canada: Bylot Island, NU (eastern High Arctic) and Daring Lake, NWT (central Low Arctic). Winter owl abundance was positively related to prey abundance during the previous summer at both sites (note: 2016 is the paper's publication year (reference pulsed-2016); 'rose and fell with' paraphrases 'positively related to', a correlation) |
| That fits the idea that a good summer lets the owls raise more young, swelling the number of migrants heading south the following winter | high abundance of tundra small mammals during the summer allows for high production of young, thus increasing the pool of migrants moving south the following winter. ... Irruptive migration of snowy owls was therefore best explained by the breeding success hypothesis (note: 'lets' paraphrases 'allows for'; framed as the hypothesis the study found best explained the data, not as a measured count of young) |

## Bubo scandiacus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: e.T22689055A205475036.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2021-3.rlts.t22689055a205475036.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Vulnerable | IUCN category (GBIF's copy of the Red List): Vulnerable (note: status verifies through GBIF's copy of the assessment, checked against the taxon id inside the DOI, per docs/fact-check.md) |